The traditional method for shipping products is to position the products within the shipping carton as close as possible with respect to each other. Therefore, when the products arrive at a retail outlet, they can be unpacked and displayed directly on a shelf, without a display unit. However, the problem associated with this method is that the product is not marketed to the fullest extent, since there is no display carton.
In the packaging field, there exists a need for shipping and displaying products inexpensively in a single carton to increase their marketability. One known method requires the products to be positioned and located within the carton for shipping in the exact position in which they are to be displayed. The folding carton includes the use of perforations so as to allow a portion of the carton to be removed. Therefore, once the carton is placed on a display shelf, the detachable portion of the folding carton may be removed so as to display the products therein and to allow customers easy access.
The problems associated with conventional folding shipping and display cartons is that their transaction costs are extremely high, since they are not an efficient mode for shipping products. Specifically, since the products are required to be located within the shipping carton in a displayable position, the products may not be stacked such that all space within the shipping carton is efficiently utilized. Depending upon the geometrical shape of the product, there may be considerable unused space within the shipping carton. Therefore, the costs for shipping the product to a specific location, which is generally based upon size (cubic feet) rather than merely weight, is greatly increased as there is an increase in the required number of cartons to ship a specific amount of product, and consequently, an increase in the shipping space required for moving a specific number of products to a desired location.
The present invention provides a carton formed from a unitary blank, wherein the carton is used for both shipping and displaying purposes. The products are positioned within the shipping carton in a manner in which available space within the carton is utilized efficiently. When the carton is ready to be placed in the display mode, an upper portion of the carton is detached and the remaining front panel of the carton folds forward to allow those products which are positioned within the carton in a non-displayable manner to be placed thereon for display purposes.